Home > Extreme anti-LGBTQ group American Family Association says it met with “senior” Walmart executives to discuss ad with gay couple

Extreme anti-LGBTQ group American Family Association says it met with “senior” Walmart executives to discuss ad with gay couple

AFA runs a right-wing evangelical media apparatus that includes a website and radio network and has endorsed dangerous anti-LGBTQ positions

Melissa Joskow / Media Matters

Extreme anti-LGBTQ group the American Family Association claimed to have met with “senior executives” at Walmart to discuss its objections to the company’s Valentine’s Day advertisement[1] that featured two men going on a blind first date at a Walmart.

On May 9, AFA announced[2] that “senior executives with AFA met with senior executives at Walmart where our objections to the video ad were strongly and respectfully articulated.” AFA wrote that it “shared our plea that Walmart remain neutral on the promotion of homosexuality,” asserting that it had a “forthright and engaging discussion about the matter.”

AFA launched[3] a petition urging Walmart to remove the advertisement in February, complaining that it “normalizes homosexual relationships.” AFA dubiously claimed[4] that the petition garnered “over 190,000 signers.” However, reporter Nico Lang noted[5] that the petition was “likely bogus,” as it contained no security or verification measures. Lang wrote that users were able to sign the petition an unlimited amount of times using “transparently counterfeit” emails and “from the same IP address while using the same web browser.” Despite the questionable authenticity of its petition, Right Wing Watch’s Jared Holt reported[6] on April 3 that AFA had secured the meeting with a representative for Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

In addition to its anti-LGBTQ advocacy work, AFA also runs a substantial right-wing evangelical media apparatus. It uses its American Family Radio network (AFR) and news website OneNewsNow to push extreme anti-LGBTQ narratives and misinformation to various types of audiences. Posts on its news website have claimed[7] that Texas legislation would “ban Christianity” and pushed[8] the debunked[9] “bathroom predator” myth, which have received significant engagement[10] from their audience.

On AFR’s Janet Mefferd Live, host Janet Mefferd has linked[11] homosexuality to child sexual abuse, suggested[12] that LGBTQ-inclusive Christianity will destroy churches, and advocated[13] for the harmful and discredited[14] practice of conversion therapy. On AFR’s Focal Point, former[15] AFA spokesperson and host Bryan Fischer has condemned[16] gay men to hell, claimed[17] that gays were responsible for the Nazi Party, and said[18] that “any practitioners of any other religion other than Christianity,” such as Muslim and Jewish people, “do not have First Amendment rights.”

In 2013, AFA endorsed[19] Russia’s anti-LGBTQ “gay propaganda[20]” law, which “effectively legalizes discrimination based on sexual orientation” and led to an increase in homophobic rhetoric and violence in the country. The group has also said[21] that “gay sex is a form of domestic terrorism.”